ville and beyond, he began expanding his repertoire to include
coffee tables and bookshelves made from recycled barnwood,
as well as toys from maple plywood, and credenzas from barnwood and cedar. Jamie emphasizes that the primary source
of his materials is regional. He has a guy that takes down old
barns and resells the lumber, the majority of which come from
Tennessee.
Perhaps the most accurate categorization of Jamie’s work is
mid-century modern-meets-Nashville. His use of vintage materials is both purposeful and innovative—making the process
seem almost effortless. But I find that to be a product of his
modesty. And although he is particular about his aesthetic vision, looks aren’t the only driving force behind Modern Arks.
“I wanted to do something that was helpful by finding a cool
way to reuse crates and barnwood so they don’t get dumped,”
Jamie tells me. “My aim is to save this beautiful stuff that’s
been around for hundreds of years.”
Only a year after his arrival in Ohio, he turned away from
architecture and on to music. Cleveland’s music scene is to
the Midwest as Nashville’s is to the South. While Nashville
is the home to legends like Johnny Cash, Loretta Lynn, and
now Jack White, Cleveland has Dean Martin, Tracy Chapman,
and Alan Freed. With the prevalence of music in his new city,
Jamie didn’t waste any time finding jam mates. He soon after
formed the band Unsparing Sea, a cello-infused, indie, folkrock band who played alongside the contemplative singersongwriter Bonnie “Prince” Billy and psychedelic-pop outfit
Yeasayer.
As a guitarist and singer, Jamie admits, “I liked music more

than architecture. It’s
much more doable, and
you don’t need quite as
many people to help you keep your vision.”
Despite his entrenchment in music in Ohio, Jamie shies
away from finding musicians to play with in Nashville. Although this city is overflowing with musical talent, he hasn’t
actively sought anyone out. “I went through that whole process of finding a band in Cleveland, and it takes so much energy. When we got back to Nashville, I thought I don’t want to
go through that again.” And time is of the essence for Jamie
and his wife with their one-year-old addition to their family.
Though Jamie undoubtedly draws influence from the
Eames couple, Nashville has proven to be a muse of its own.
He is inspired by other local designers such as Matt Alexander of Holler Design, who also uses raw, rural elements with
a modern sensibility. Others include Jonathan Malphrus from
Steric, who specializes in rugged, geometric woodwork, and a
personal friend, Ryan Richardson, whose data furniture adds a
modern, pre-fabricated inspiration
to Jamie’s own work.
MODERN ARKS:
Jamie adds as he grabs his longneglected coffee, “This seems like
For more information,
a great time to be in Nashville.
visit modernarks.net, or
purchase directly from
There’s so much creativity, and
Jamie on his Etsy site,
I hope I’m adding something to
etsy.com/shop/modernarks
what’s here already. I don’t know
or Twitter / Instagram
@modernarks
how this really took off, but I’m
blessed that it happened.”